Air-cooled heat exchanger



Aug. 15, 195o G.' H. DIETER 2,518,760

AIR-COOLED HEAT XCHANGER Filed NOV. 15, 1.945 Jr a@ la a s 6 3- ll fe e/z /Pt A 'l 5,2 roarH/zf @a INVENToR.

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Patented Aug. 1-5, 1950 vanarco f voperiert l 1 Aia-oooLEo'nEA'r ExoHANoER,

= George 1H. Dieter, Glendale, Calif., assignor to f The yFluor Corporation, Ltd., Los Angeles,--Calif., a corporation of California Application November 13, 1945, serielNo. 627,987

This invention has to, do withV improvements in heat exchange equipment, particularly condensers for steam or other vapors, in which the condenser units, comprising for example single or multiple banks of tubes, are cooled by fans discharging air against the tubes.' Condensers of this type are designed primarily for large capacity outdoor installations, and depending upon the cooling load, for use of multiple blowers ,capable of directing large 'quantities of air at high velocity against the condenser tubes A principal object of the'invention is to provide an improved structure assuring maintenance of the full quantity and velocity of the fan-projected air streams directed againstthe condenser units. The general structure*` comprises a vertically extended chamber containing at an intermediate elevation a division or floor which in turn accommodates` a fan rotatable about a vertical axis and operating to discharge air taken into the ,chamber below the iloor, upwardly against single or `multiple banks of tubes in the top portion of the chamber. structure departs from conventional practices in that the side walls are converged upwardly above the fan to confine and correspondingly increase the velocity of the air stream being projected against the condenser. Specically, the structure incorporates an outside vertical frame structure spaced from and supporting the side walls, all as will hereinafter appear'.

A further object and feature is an improved mounting arrangement of the fan drive parts in a manner permitting convenient access to the prime mover and transmission without interference by the fan, the mounting having the further advantage of independence from the chamber structure in the sense that vibrations in one cannot be transmitted to the other.

The invention and its various features and objects will be understood to better advantage from the following detailed description of the typical and illustrative embodiment shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a horizontal section taken on line l-l of Fig. 2 showing typically a four-cell condenser structure;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a, fragmentary section on line 3 3 of Fig. 2 showing the prime mover connection with the transmission.

It will be understood that in any specic embodiment of the invention the air or plenum chamber structure may include one or a plu- The chamber wall ilcnim. (o1. 257-137) rality of individual sections or cells, arranged and provided in total number in accordance with the required cooling capacity of the installation. Merely as illustrative, the drawing shows a fourcell structure, each cell lcontaining its individual -fan and with the cells arranged'in pairs transversely of the structure.

Exteriorly the airichamber lll and its divisions or cells .i i, i2, i3 and lil are defined by the vertical vend walls l5 and the side walls I5. As illustrated in Fig..2, each side wall includes an upwardly andinwardly` inclined section Ilia continuing-,at the top in a substantially vertical section ich. Below the inclined section lGa the side Walla-and also'if desired theend walls l5, may include screen Il or otherwise be of open formation, to permit free induction of air into the bottom portion loa of the chamber.

The chamber le contains below the inclined side section |611 a substantially horizontal oor structure i3 above which the chamber is divided into the cells l l t0 Hi by the longitudinal and transverse partitions ls and 21"?. Below the oor i8, the bottom portion lila of the chamber is continuous, to permit access from one to the other of the fan driving units, A fan ring 2| is contained in the floor la at the bottom oi each of the cells l to le, each fan ring being upwardly convergent and extending above the bottom portion of the side wall sections Illia.

The described chamber and cell assembly is exteriorly supported by a frame structure and including the vertical columns 22 and beams 23 and 24 extending respectively along and at the outsideof the end and side chamber walls I5 and it. Beams 25 extending longitudinally of the structure between the end beams fici are attached to the upper portion |513 of each side wall, thus giving the latter direct transverse support by the spaced outside frame structure. One or more banks of condenser tubes may be arranged in the path of the highest velocity air streams in the top reduced width portions of the cells. Typically, lower tube banks. 25 having their headers lconnected to inlet and outlet lines 21 and 2B, are shown to extend through the side wall section Ebb and to be supported on the lower beams 25. Similar tube .banks 29 extending across the top of the chamber are supported on the upper beams 25.

Each of the fan rings 2| contains a fan 30 having a drive shaft 3| connected through a flexible coupling 32 with a transmission 33. As illustrated in Fig. 3, a suitable prime mover such as motor 34 drives the fan shaft 3| through the radial and thrust bearings, supported'on legs 38':-

in the manner of a tripod,permitting,access to all parts of the drive transmission. Thus; with the motors and transmissions at substantiallyy ground level and openly accessible, workmen may.

enter the chamber 10a for service or repair of those parts without interference by the fans 30 which may continue to operate. Thus the invention is distinguished fromthe conventional practice of mounting thetransmission in elevated position and-in such close proximity to thev fan, that service or repairs cannot safely be made with the fan continuing in operation.

In operation, air taken in through the screened inlet I1 is discharged upwardly through the cells by the fans 30, the. air velocity being progressively increased by the convergence of the side wall Ia, to a maximum reached'at the location ofthe exchangers 26 and 29. Placement of supporting members in the outside frame structure permits unobstructed and free air flow desirable for efficient maintenance of the desired air velocities within the chamberv and cells. As Will be 4. understood, heat transfer rates in the exchangers 26 to 29 are increased as a function of the increased air velocity resulting from the convergent wall structure.

I claim:

Heat exchange equipment comprising a housing of upwardly decreasing cross-sectional area havingganiunwardly andvv inwardlyl inclined side, anrexteriorfvertical frame-structure spaced from and connected to said inclined side, a horizontally extending wall in said housing, an air inlet in the. side ofthe housing below said wall, a fan rotatable about a vertical axis for discharging air upwardlythroughfan openingT in said wall and thence-:at increasing velocity upwardly along said inclinedsi'de to the atmosphere, and a heat exchanger positioned, at the top portion of the housing in the path of the increased velocity air stream'. and supported by said external frame structure at the outside and independently of said inclined. side- A GEORGE H. DIETER.

REFERENCES CITED.

TheA following references are .off record in the le offthis'.Y patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name. Date 1,750,094. Emmrich.- Mar. 11, 1930 1,861,812 Medine June 7, 1932 1,889,588- Anderson' Nov. 29, 1932 1,978,413. Child. Oct. 30, 19313:l 2,107,478 Happel Feb. 8, 1938 2,185,964 Larrecq Jan. 2, 1940 2,401,918 Elderetal.v June 11, 1946 

